Key Points
- IDR application backlog continued to drop, with just 626,412 outstanding applications to be processed.
- No income-driven repayment discharges were processed in January, even though more than 22,000 borrowers were identified as eligible.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback backlog continued to grow, with 86,520 applications pending and decisions covering only a fraction of incoming requests.
The U.S. Department of Education’s latest court-ordered status report (PDF) shows an improvement in income-driven repayment plan application processing, but more concern around loan forgiveness processing.
The report showed that no income-based repayment discharges were processed in January, and a mounting backlog of Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback requests that now stretches toward a three-year wait. Normal PSLF discharges are processing, with over 18,000 borrowers receiving their forgiveness under this specific program.
The filing, submitted February 13 in federal court, provides a detailed snapshot of January 2026 loan processing activity. It comes amid ongoing litigation over student loan servicing and follows prior reporting on processing delays.
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IDR Application Improvement
According to the Department’s data, 260,358 income-driven repayment (IDR) applications were received between January 1 and January 31, 2026. During that same period, servicers decided 379,702 applications — approving 325,542 and denying 54,160 .
Even with decisions outpacing new applications, the backlog remains substantial. As of January 31, 626,412 IDR applications were still pending. That's an improvement over the prior month's 734,221 outstanding applications.
The Department noted that pending totals are influenced by more than just monthly inflows and outflows. When borrowers submit a new IDR request while a prior one is pending, the earlier application is automatically canceled but not logged as a denial. That administrative quirk can affect how trends appear in monthly data.
No IDR-Related Loan Forgiveness Processed In January 2026
Perhaps the most concerning figure in the report: zero IDR plan discharges were processed in January.
That includes:
- 0 discharges under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan
- 0 under the original Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan
- 0 under Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
This occurred despite the Department identifying thousands of borrowers as eligible for forgiveness.
The filing states that in January, the Department identified 10,873 IBR borrowers, 10,729 original ICR borrowers, and 820 PAYE borrowers as eligible for discharge through upgraded checks in the National Student Loan Data System. However, “those discharges… did not process in January”. What's odd is no borrower should be eligible for PAYE discharge yet, so this may be a data issue.
In total, that is 22,422 borrowers who were flagged as eligible but did not receive relief during the month.
The absence of processed IBR discharges is especially notable given that income-driven plans are designed to forgive remaining balances after borrowers reach 20 or 25 years of qualifying payments, depending on the plan. The status report does not explain why the identified discharges were not completed in January.
PSLF Buyback Backlog Continues To Grow
The report also details activity in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Buyback program.
In January:
- 5,030 PSLF Buyback applications were received
- 2,430 were decided (with 1,980 approved)
As of January 31, 86,520 PSLF Buyback applications remained pending. This is an increase from 83,370 last month.
At January’s decision pace of 2,430 per month, clearing 86,520 pending applications would take roughly 35 months (nearly three years) if no additional applications were received. In reality, new applications continue to arrive each month, suggesting the effective wait could stretch even longer. Given how PSLF buyback is calculated, this may not be worth the wait.
Separate from buyback activity, 18,160 "normal" PSLF discharges were processed in January.
What This Means For Borrowers
For borrowers waiting on IDR forgiveness or PSLF buyback decisions, the report signals continued delays.
More than 626,000 IDR applications remain pending. Tens of thousands of borrowers were identified as eligible for discharge in January but saw no forgiveness processed that month. And the buyback backlog suggests that applicants could face waits approaching three years under current processing levels.
Borrowers should really do their own math on whether PSLF buyback is even worth it.
The Department’s filing does not indicate when the identified IDR discharges will process, nor does it outline a timeline for reducing the PSLF buyback backlog.
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Editor: Colin Graves
Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading voices on student loan debt and saving for college. He holds an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and has spent over 15 years researching, writing, and advising on student loans, 529 plans, financial aid programs, and saving and investing for young professionals.
Robert has been featured in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Forbes, where he has been a regular personal finance contributor for over a decade. His work combines both professional expertise and personal experience – he successfully navigated his own student loan repayment journey and has helped thousands of readers do the same.
He is committed to making the intersection of personal finance and education transparent and accessible. You can learn more about Robert on the About Page or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.